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'''''A Song of Ice and Fire''''' is an epic fantasy series of novels by the American author [[George R. R. Martin]], begun with ''[[A Game of Thrones]]'' in 1996. Set chiefly on the continent of [[Westeros]] and the lands across the [[Narrow Sea]], the series interweaves the political struggle for the [[Iron Throne]] among the realm's great houses with the slow return of magic to the world, including the rebirth of dragons in the east and the rise of an ancient menace, the [[Others]], beyond the [[Wall]] in the north.

The series is known for its large cast, its rotating point-of-view structure in which each chapter is told from the perspective of a single character, its morally complex characters, and its willingness to defy the conventions and expectations of heroic fantasy. It is the basis for the [[Game of Thrones|television adaptation]].

== Overview ==
The series begins with a realm at uneasy peace that fractures into the multi-sided civil war known as the [[War of the Five Kings]] after the death of [[Robert Baratheon|King Robert]]. As the great houses, [[House Stark|Stark]], [[House Lannister|Lannister]], [[House Baratheon|Baratheon]], [[House Targaryen|Targaryen]], [[House Greyjoy|Greyjoy]], [[House Tyrell|Tyrell]], [[House Martell|Martell]], and others, contend for power, two larger threats loom: the exiled [[Daenerys Targaryen]] raising dragons and an army in the east, and the supernatural [[Others]] gathering beyond the [[Wall]] as the long winter approaches.

The title refers to the central tension between ice, associated with the [[Others]] and the cold threat from the north, and fire, associated with the dragons and the prophecies of [[R'hllor]] and [[Azor Ahai]], a duality that runs throughout the work.

== Volumes ==
Five volumes have been published to date: ''[[A Game of Thrones]]'' (1996), ''[[A Clash of Kings]]'' (1998), ''[[A Storm of Swords]]'' (2000), ''[[A Feast for Crows]]'' (2005), and ''[[A Dance with Dragons]]'' (2011). Two further volumes, planned to complete the series, remain forthcoming as of this writing. [[George R. R. Martin]] has also published companion works set in the same world, including histories of [[Westeros]] and the [[House Targaryen|Targaryen]] dynasty.

== Significance ==
''A Song of Ice and Fire'' is among the most influential works of modern epic fantasy, widely credited with bringing a grittier, more politically intricate, and morally ambiguous sensibility to the genre. Its enormous popularity, amplified by the television adaptation, made it a cultural phenomenon and one of the best-selling fantasy series of its time.

[[Category:Game of Thrones]]
[[Category:Books]]